Souls Intertwined, Past Reshaped (Not Really)
by Maxy Steel
Summary: Dimensional travel, Carrot being good with kids, Marron and Gateau fluff (whenever I can shove it in) Glace brothers sticking together (in a non-hentai manner) and action. Trust me, the fic's better than the summary. *SHOUNEN-AI WARNING!!!!*
1. Life, as of Now

_Disclaimer: Sorcerer/Bakuretsu Hunters is not mine. I'd like it to be, cause then there'd be a lot more Marron/Gateau stuff. *grinnnn* But alas, I don't own it. Woe be I. Anyway, on with the fic. By the way, I know that the title on the FF.net page doesn't match the title of this chapter. There's a reason for that. I think you can figure it out. Have fun reading!   
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai, fluff, humor. Some underpants humor. Literally._   
  


**LIFE, AS OF NOW   
BY:   
Maxy Steel**   
  
_ Given the chance, would you turn back time, to save yourself from an unspeakable horror? To spare your friends, family the agony and fear? What if it was possible to turn back the clock? Would you take that chance?_

  
It had been five years. Five years since Zaha Torte had made his move, and tried to raise the Destruction God from it's resting place within the body of a young man, a boy, and almost succeeded. Five years since that youth had been forced to watch the four closest to him fall. Only to find them by his side when he needed them most. His prayers had been answered. Carrot sighed, shaking his head slightly, a faint grin crossing his tanned features. He wasn't complaining. His eyes turned to the left, watching from his vantage point on the rooftop, Marron and Gateau settled under one of the trees in the yard. From below, within the house, the sound of a shattering plate, followed by Tira's chiding of Chocolate to be more careful, and the elder sister's sharp retort. The brown-haired young man chuckled softly to himself. No, he wasn't complaining at all. Inside the house, another dish was broken.   
"Hey, Marron, Gateau, Carrot! Get inside for dinner, before Chocolate breaks all the dishes!" Tira's call came from within the structure.   
"Excuse me?! I believe the last dish was in your hands before the floor, sister dear!" Chocolate's objection was fast on the first girl's voice. There was more bickering, but the girls brought it down to quieter tones, and weren't heard. Carrot turned his head to watch the sunset a moment longer, even as his brother called up to him as he entered the house.   
"Brother, aren't you hungry?" the long-haired brother queried. The tall blonde beside him stopped as well, looking faintly impatient. The elder brother flicked a hand in acknowledgement of his sibling's call.   
"Yeah, when am I not? I'll be down in a sec, Marron," he added with a playful grin. Five years, and not much had changed.   
"Suit yourself. We'll save you some scraps," Gateau returned, then slung a muscular arm around Marron's shoulders, directing the younger man inside the house. Things had slowed considerably since Zaha's attempt to destroy the world. Quieted enough that the five Hunters had been able to take up a permanent residence. Their staying together wasn't at all by chance. Marron hadn't wanted to be far from his brother, and Gateau would have gone to live in a cave if that was what his lover wished. Tira and Chocolate had both insisted that there was no way they were going to leave Carrot to just go "hook up with any old floozy that came along". In the end, it had been the tank-top toting member of their group who had suggested that the five should try to put up with one another in one house. Just a few months after Zaha's disappearance, the home had been built, and the five had been staying there ever since, only leaving for the surprisingly few missions they received. Carrot shook his head a little, frowning thoughtfully as he recalled the past four and a half years. He had been thrilled for his brother when he and Gateau had admitted their feelings for one another to the rest of the group. Tira's reaction had been the same, and Chocolate had made a comment about knowing all along. Building the house had been fun. Hiding in the hole for the foundation from Tira and Chocolate, helping his brother put down the floor boards, teasing Gateau about being able to lift and set the walls. He looked down at the roof. He had, at his own insistence, shingled the roof entirely on his own. The well outside had been dug out by the five Hunters for their own use, as they had chosen a spot somewhat close to a town, but still far enough that it was a bother to travel back and forth in the name of collecting water. Also because of the location, Tira and Chocolate had backed off a bit on the possessiveness of their favorite perverted partner. Carrot, in turn, had stopped chasing girls quite as much as in the past. Life had been relatively quiet, time frames of weeks or months between each adventure. The dark-eyed Hunter trotted to the edge of the roof, and hooked his hands on the ridge, and swung down, landing with a soft thump on the ground, then hurried inside the house.   
Carrot leaned back contentedly, curling his fingers over his stomach, grinning happily.   
"Man, that was great!" he announced appreciatively, stretching his arms back over his head.   
"Did you enjoy dinner, Darling?" Chocolate asked, giving him a sultry smirk, leaning over to collect the dishes before both of the Glace brothers. Tira rolled her eyes as she bore her load over to the sink. The elder sister followed after a moment, depositing her share into the basin as well. The pink-haired girl moved to go outside to retrieve water to clean the dishes, when a light hand on her shoulder stopped her.   
"Tira, you and Chocolate have been working very hard already today. Gateau and I can do the dishes. Take a break, you two," Marron's gentle voice commanded firmly. The blonde man made a faintly surprised noise.   
"We can?" he half-choked. His dark-haired partner turned his head slightly, so that none of the others saw, and winked at his lover. Gateau caught the look, and grinned. "Yeah, sure, we can do the dishes. You girls relax," he added. Tira smiled warmly at both of the young men.   
"That's so nice of you, Marron, Gateau," she replied gratefully. Chocolate beamed, literally.   
"That's so sweet of you two! Come along, Darling!" she exclaimed, latching onto Carrot's biceps and dragging him out the front door, Tira on her heels, yelling that Carrot wasn't only hers. Gateau gave voice to a rumbling chuckle.   
"Think he'll ever pick one of them?" the tall man questioned bemusedly. His lover stepped up beside him, observing, through the window, Tira and Chocolate each trying to woo Carrot, in their own way.   
"Perhaps, but I doubt it. He wouldn't be able to break either's heart by choosing one, and he obviously enjoys the attention from both," the quiet young man commented thoughtfully, crossing his arms, the fabric of his sleeves fluttering against his sides, a fond smile gracing his features. The more muscular of the pair nodded in agreement, then clasped an arm around his shorter lover's shoulders for a moment before heading outside to get the water.   
The short trip to cover the distance between the front door and the well was made dangerous by one having to dodge Tira's cape, Chocolate's hair, or just Carrot in general, but Gateau managed, despite not moving quick enough to avoid a run away Carrot after dodging Tira. Ignoring the threesome in the yard at his back, the blonde man collected the bucket and dropped it down into the well. He tugged at the cord until he was certain that the pail had filled, absently sticking out his arm to stop Chocolate's badly timed jump at Carrot to end with her in the watery pit. She bounced off his shoulder, and landed in an undignified sprawl on the grass, looking surprised.   
"Darling!! See what you almost made me do! I'll have to punish you for that!" she cried, jumping up and dashing off, disappearing around the side of the house. Carrot's screams of "PRINCESS!! PRINCESS!! PRINCESS!!" echoed a moment later, mixed with Tira's laughter. Gateau snorted to himself, drawing the bucket up and transferring the contents to the pail not attached to the well. Fortunately, Carrot was still hiding in the back, so the tall Hunter wasn't bothered by any errant partners on the way back to the house. Stepping back inside, the first thing that caught his attention was that Marron had removed his tunic, leaving himself bare-chested and in only his pants, his hair tied back in a loose ponytail to keep it somewhat out of the way. The top covering was neatly folded and sitting on the table.   
"You're trying to tease me, aren't you?" Gateau asked with a wolfish grin. His lover looked up from the basin, and smiled warmly.   
"Of course not. I simply didn't want to get my robe damp," he explained, stepping over to the taller man. Taking the bucket from his partner's hand, the long-haired young man set it down, then set about removing the spike bracelets and gloves from Gateau's hands. "Wouldn't want to get your wrist bands rusty, would you, Gateau?" he asked innocently, looking up at his lover. The taller man snorted softly, his now bare hand ghosting up to cup against the back of his lover's head, leaning his head down to press their lips together for a brief moment. When they parted, the shorter man smiled up at his partner, then turned and set the gloves aside next to his tunic, and picked up the pail to empty the contents into the basin.   
For almost a whole blissful half hour, everything was calm. Indoors, at least. Gateau was cleaning out the last of the bowls, when the front door slammed open, spitting Carrot inside to fall in an ungraceful heap on his rear. He was up in a second, dashing through the kitchen, barely missing crashing into Marron, and thudding up the stairs.   
"DARLING! Get back here!" Chocolate's voice rang out, the only warning Gateau had to wrap an arm around Marron's waist and pull him out of the line of fire, before both Misu sisters charged through the door, and after the spiky-haired Hunter.   
"There he is! Under the bed!" Tira shouted from upstairs, followed by a whip cracking, and Carrot screaming bloody murder.   
"Oh, come on, Darling. Get out off the ceiling! I'll be gentle, I promise," the elder Misu sister's sultry tone carried down the steps. The whish of the red-haired Hunter's line.   
"MAAAAARRON! GATEAAAAU!!! HELP!" was screeched immediately. The younger Glace brother merely chuckled quietly. The muscular blonde man glanced up at the ceiling, looked down at his lover, whose waist he still had his arm around, shrugged and stayed put. There was a suspicious silence following the racket.   
"Think they caught him?" Gateau mused, looking at the stairs leading up to the bedrooms. His long-haired partner covered his mouth to somewhat muffle a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snickering cough.   
"If that was the case, wouldn't there be more noise?" he asked innocently, hazel eyes sparkling with mirth. His lover gave him a surprised look, then snorted.   
"True. We may as well use the lull to finish up," he commented, finally removing his arm from the younger man's side, and turning to put away the last of the dishes. Marron hefted the bucket of dirty dishwater, and headed outside. On cue, all three of the trouble-makers came thundering downstairs. The long-haired Hunter dodged his brother, and Chocolate, but was slammed into by Tira, who hadn't been able to slow or stop. The water pail flew up in the air, and came down, straight on Marron's head, upside-down, splashing him with a considerable amount of filthy water. Drawn by the crash, Chocolate and Carrot's heads appeared in the doorway, peeking in. Tira was picking herself up off the ground, Marron was still sitting on the floor, and Gateau was leaning against the counter, doing his best not to snicker too loudly. Presently, the younger Glace brother slowly lifted the bucket off his head, revealing the most surprised expression any of them had seen on him before. The elder Misu sister snickered madly, clasping her hands over her mouth. Carrot erupted in laughter.   
"Y-you okay, Ma-Marron?" he gasped around his snickers. For his part, the long-haired Hunter calmly set the bucket aside, his facial expression adjusted to a slight, devious smirk, stood up, and flung his head forward, sending a large arc of dishwater straight at his sibling. Chocolate saw it coming, and was well out of the way when Carrot took the spray head on. The laughing hyena of a Hunter was sputtering indignantly a second later, spitting water from his mouth and wiping it from his eyes. With a self-satisfied smirk, the younger brother moved to retrieve a rag to mop up the spilled water. Tira plucked it form his hand a second later.   
"Go change. You're sopping wet, and we're in the cold season," she ordered authoritatively, then grinned at the other Hunter. "Besides, I don't think Gateau would be too happy if you caught cold," added with a wink. A faint blush colored Marron's cheeks, and he headed upstairs, his lover on his heels, carrying the tunic and the gloves. Soon as the couple had disappeared, Chocolate was pointing her line at Carrot, who immediately started backing up, hands raised in surrender and peace.   
"Now, Darling, look at the mess on the floor.... clean it up," she commanded sharply. A pitiful look came upon the spiky-haired young man's face.   
"But Chocolate," he whined pathetically, "I'm all wet, too. You don't want me to catch cold, do you?" he asked in a pleading manner. Both sisters appeared to give the question serious thought.   
"Well, if he's sick, he would be easier to catch," Tira observed with a smirk. Carrot's eyes went huge.   
"But we couldn't be as rough with him," Chocolate added in a thoughtful voice. The dark-eyed object of discussion perked up a bit.   
"And he'd be all but useless for assignments," the younger Misu noted, tapping the handle of her whip on her lower lip. Carrot nodded his agreement eagerly. After a moment, the elder sister made a gesture of dismissal towards the tank top wearing member of their troupe.   
"Very well, Darling. You may go change," she told him. With a whoop, Carrot charged upstairs. The sisters chuckled, and set about cleaning up the mess themselves. Minutes later, the girls were almost finished with their task, and the dark-haired Hunter was trotting downstairs, clad in clean khakis and tank top.   
"DAMN! My ass was freez--hey, I thought you wanted me to do that," he piped brightly, a little confused. Tira shrugged, wringing out another rag.   
"You took too long," she replied, kneeling down to mop at the floor again. Chocolate stood up, depositing her own cloth in the wash basin.   
"Besides, Darling, we can use this as an excuse to punish you," she smirked. Carrot eep-ed, backing up.   
"Uhh... I-I'm gonna g-go start the la-laundry," he stuttered, then bolted up the stairs. "Hey, Gateau! Throw Marron's pants out here!" came from the upper floor a moment later. A pause while the younger Hunter listened to something his partner was saying. "Whaddya mean he's still wearing them?! It's been ten minutes since you guys went in there! What're you two doing in there?!" the spiky-haired man's voice came from the hall, followed by the sound of an irate Gateau, a door-opening, and a pair of pants hitting Carrot. The perky Hunter was grumbling all the while as he moved from room to room, collecting clothes.   
"That'll keep him occupied for a while, at least," Chocolate muttered, scrubbing at the floor. Tira nodded her agreement, wringing out another rag into the wash basin. She looked down at the floor, still holding the scrap.   
"Since we're already down here, should we just do the whole floor?" she questioned of her sibling. The older Misu studied the surface for a moment, then shrugged agreeably.   
"Holy shi--Gateau! What the HELL did you do in your pants?!" came from upstairs a few minutes later, followed by an indistinguishable, but definitely threatening, comment from the muscular blonde man, directed at Carrot. After a minor bit of squabbling, the upstairs was quiet again, save Carrot's not-so-quiet muttering about the way people left their clothes laying around. The Misu sisters were just finishing up, when they heard the thumping of feet down the steps. A moment later, the dark-haired Hunter appeared in the entryway to the kitchen, holding a piece of dark red cloth.   
"Hey, Chocolate. Is this yours?" he asked, holding it up. The sister in question snorted, while her sibling flushed bright red.   
"Of course not, Darling. I don't wear a bra," she returned smugly. Carrot was busy examining the inside label as Tira stomped up to him.   
"Whoa! It's a DD! Can't be yours, huh Tira...aaah!!" the spiky-haired young man was commenting, only to have the bra snatched from his hand, and then be belted by it upside the head, thanks to the furiously blushing pink-haired Hunter.   
"You don't wave women's undergarments around like that, Carrot!" she yelled. The spiky-haired troublemaker cringed back from the irate young woman, hands protectively over his head.   
"Geez, Tira! You coulda just said so! Didn't have to hit me like that! Man, I'm gonna have a mark there," Carrot whined, rubbing the side of his head that had been whacked. The younger Misu sister sighed, and threw the bra back at the dark-eyed young man, then turned and stomped back over to finish cleaning. The elder Glace brother shrugged, then plodded back up the stairs. A few minutes later, several rolls of bundled up clothing came bouncing down the steps.   
"It's been a while since we did laundry! Look at all this," the tank top wearing Hunter gestured to the heap from mid-way down the stairs as he made his way down them, another bundle under each arm. One of the rolls under his arm slipped, and bounced down the stairs. The Misu sisters ignored their loud-mouthed partner as he trundled the laundry into the other room. For almost ten minutes, there was silence as the spiky-haired young man busied himself with sorting out all the clothing.   
"Think the idiot accidentally strangled himself with a sock?" Tira ventured, just before the aforementioned idiot charged back into the room, and up the stairs.   
"Forgot to check Marron's room!" he explained pointlessly. Chocolate opened her mouth to remind him that Gateau and Marron were both still in the younger Glace brother's room, but Carrot had already disappeared up the steps. Both sisters sighed simultaneously, and waited for the yell. They heard Marron's door open, footsteps, the awaited threatening sounds from Gateau, then rapidly retreating footfalls.   
"He walked in on them," Chocolate observed wryly. Tira snickered, nodding.   
"Whoa! Geez, Gateau! No need to get so bent out of shape!! I didn't see anything, I swear!!" Carrot was heard yelling, followed by the tank top clad Hunter appearing on the stairs, jumping the last five, rolling as he landed, and bolting for the laundry room. If the sisters had been able to see up the staircase, they'd have seen a shirtless Gateau retreating back into the bedroom.   
"Maybe Darling will be brave enough to go back upstairs by sunrise or so," the elder Misu sister chuckled, gathering up the rags use to clean the floor, and taking them into the laundry room. She found the spiky-haired Hunter sitting on the floor amid the piles of clothes he had hauled down, sorting things out and muttering to himself.   
"Just saw them kissing... it's not a big deal... sheesh," the dark-eyed boy grumbled. Chocolate raised an eyebrow, and walked over, dropping the rags on a pile.   
"If you were in Gateau's position, you'd be a bit paranoid yourself, Darling," was all she said before turning and walking out. The male Hunter blinked a few times at the retreating back, then shrugged, deciding to ponder the comment later, and went back to the clothes.   
Gateau turned on his back, staring up at the ceiling, absently rubbing his hand in abstract circles on his lover's bare back. Marron shifted a little, nearly asleep, laying on his side, his head resting on his partner's shoulder, one arm flung haphazardly across his lover's chest. Both men were shirtless, but that was the extent of their nudity. The blonde Hunter frowned slightly as the hand on his dark-haired lover's back snagged in the sleeping man's hair. Turning his head, he grimaced at the tangled mess Marron's hair was quickly becoming.   
"Knew we should've brushed it out earlier," he muttered, then sat up, bringing the other young man with him. He shook the other Hunter gently. "Marron? Wake up for a minute. I can't remember where we left your brush," he said in a low voice.   
"Mmm.... huh? Oh. Over on the desk. I'll get it..." he trailed off, shifting and slipping off the bed. A large yawn caught him, and his hand automatically came up to the back of his head. He froze, feeling the tangles. "We forgot to brush it out?" he said in a perturbed tone.   
"We forgot to brush it out," Gateau affirmed solemnly. The black-haired member of the lovers sighed heavily, retrieved the brush, and came back to the bed, situating himself between his partner's thighs. The taller man, who had moved until he was leaning up against the wall the bed was against, took the brush and set about doing his best to detangle the semi-damp mess as painlessly as possible. Time passed in long, comfortable, silence.   
"Is it that late? I haven't heard my brother or either of the girls yet," Marron commented finally, breaking the silence. His lover voiced a low rumbling chuckle, the fully untangled bottom two feet of his partner's knee-length hair pooling around his upper thighs as he started on the next section.   
"I heard Chocolate and Tira not too long ago, but that brother of yours hasn't made a sound since after he walked in on us earlier," he explained, setting down the brush to work out a particularly stubborn knot with his fingers. Marron laughed lightly.   
"Amazing. I didn't think he could go more than a short stretch without saying something," the younger Glace brother noted. The older man shrugged, taking up the brush again.   
"Death threats from me can do amazing things," he grinned. Another foot completed.   
"So I've noticed," the golden-eyed Hunter replied, a note of amusement in his voice. Another few minutes passed in silence, before the younger of the couple started to ask something, but instead yawned hugely. His partner chuckled.   
"I'm almost done," he answered the cut-off question, now brushing through the full length of the midnight strands on each down stroke. There were still some minor snags, easily taken care of.   
"Mmm... good," the younger man muttered, fighting to stay at least vaguely awake. The blonde Hunter went through the entire length of hair a few more times, then set the brush aside, wrapping his powerful arms around his lover's waist and pulling him back, closing the gap between their bodies. The dark-haired of the couple started a little at the move, then turned his head, observing the position. "Are you going to be comfortable sleeping like that?" he asked sleepily.   
"I'll be fine. What about you?" the taller man queried in response. Instead of answering, the shorter of the lovers shifted about a bit, settling himself. One hand came up to rest upon the limbs around his waist, while the other laid limply on the side of his lover's thigh. He tilted back his head, resting it on Gateau's shoulder. He heaved a relaxed sigh, and seemed to melt against the larger man.   
"Good night, Gateau. I love you," he murmured vacantly, closing his eyes. The blonde man leaned his head down to kiss his lover's cheek.   
"Love you, too. Night, Marron," he replied, readjusting his head to a comfortable position, and relaxing, falling asleep almost immediately after his lover.   


_ To be continued....._

  
_ Well, there you have it. My first Sorcerer Hunters fic. Well, the first part, anyway. Yeah, I know that the title and summary don't really match this part. That's cause this was just some cute stuff I wanted to write, and also, we all know how much fun the longer fics are. The next part starts to deleve into the actual plot, so stay tuned if ya don't believe me. Review if you liked it and want me to post more. It's a bit of a pain in the pa-tushie to html this stuff, so I'm only gonna do so if the public demands it. *grins* Catch ya later! Luv ya all!_   
-Maxy Steel 


	2. Starting the Journey

_Disclaimer: Sorcerer/Bakuretsu Hunters is not mine. I'd like it to be, cause then there'd be a lot more Marron/Gateau stuff. *grinnnn* But alas, I don't own it. Woe be I. Anyway, on with the fic.   
  
A.N.: Okay, I know I promised that in this chapter, the action would start heating up. I only half-lied! I got a really, really neat idea, and I wanted to incorporate it into this fic, so the action starts here, sorta kinda, but it's for the first "plot". Look at it this way: there's pretty much two stories jammed into this one fic. That means you're getting double the excitement! Hope nobody minds. *puppy eyes, chibi voice* Pwease don't be mwad at mwe! Oh, and I also did this cause I figured that I'd have more time to write, seeing as how I broke my ankle, really well, almost a week ago. *swats her muse, the demon-angel (looks like a black rabbit with white wings, occasionally has a halo, usually being held up by horns), who's waving a sign bearing the words "PITY-PARTY!!!"* Ahem. Please enjoy the fic!   
  
Warnings: Fluff, shounen-ai, some humor, Marron putting up with being told how much he looks like someone's little brother._   
  


**STARTING THE JOURNEY   
BY:   
Maxy Steel**

  
  
In the course of the night, Marron had shifted onto his side, facing the window. It was the bright streams of sunlight pouring through the glass covered break in the wall that started to draw the dark-haired mage out of slumber. Golden eyes slitted open warily, and took as much of a full, head-on zap of sunlight as was possible, causing their owner to turn his head against his lover's shoulder in an attempt to avoid the rays, making a small grumbling noise of protest. A few minutes later, he was almost asleep again, when the door burst open, the wooden barrier slamming against the wall. Gateau made a noise somewhat like a surprised snort, eyes popping open, whipping his attention towards the door, one arm wrapping protectively around his lover's waist. At the same time, the long-haired mage's eyes snapped open, as he whirled in his partner's grip to face the room's entrance. Just in time to see Carrot bound into the room.   
"Come on, we got an assignment!" he piped cheerfully. "Dotta still looks just as cute as ever... but Chocolate cracked me one, just cause I said 'Hi!'. Geeze... I've probably got a concussion from that one or something," he continued, a whining note in his voice, as he rubbed the visible hand-shaped mark just above his ear that disappeared into his tousled black hair. About then, he noticed that the occupants of the room were still in bed. "Were you guys still asleep?! Man, it's like the middle of the day!" he exclaimed. "Or were you guys... busy?" added with an over-sized goofy grin, looking pointedly as his sibling's right hand. Marron looked down at said limb, which was balanced on his blonde lover's upper thigh. A faint blush crept over his cheeks.   
"Idiot. Don't you know how to knock?" Gateau retorted irritably. The spiky-haired Hunter shrugged.   
"Well, not like you guys were _doing_ anything, so it's okay," he reasoned innocently. The golden-eyed young man rolled his eyes before tilting his head up to give his lover a good morning kiss. The older sibling clapped a hand over his eyes. "Oy! Ya coulda warned me! I mean, I don't do stuff like that in front of you!" he wailed theatrically. The same mischievous gleam from the previous evening entered the younger brother's eyes, as he reached behind his lover to retrieve a pillow. Carrot's snickering was cut off by the rectangle of padding smacking him in the face, courtesy of Marron's good aim. The older brother, though caught off-guard, managed to catch the offending material before it hit the floor. He winged it back at his sibling, Gateau calmly holding up a hand to intervene, catching the pillow when it was still more than a foot from the golden-eyed mage's face. Carrot high-tailed it out of the room at that point, really not wanting to take a pillow to the face if it was thrown by the blond muscleman. Marron laughed lightly, pushing back a thick lock of hair out of his face, then pushed himself up off his lover, slipping to the floor with easy grace. Gateau stayed put, admiring the view of his partner's rear and long flowing hair swishing about his hips, while the mage retrieved a new pair of pants and tunic from the dresser, before tossing the blonde muscleman fresh jeans and top. Both changed quickly, before the light-skinned Hunter returned to the bed, balancing on the side of it while he brushed out his hair. Gateau sat on the other side, lacing up his boots. Standing, he went to the hook by the door, pulling his vest and shoulder guards off the holder and slipping them on.   
"Hey, Marron? Can I braid your hair?" he asked, adjusting the spiked shoulder guard.   
"No," came immediately, the speaker busy with a stubborn knot near the base of his skull.   
"Ponytail?" Gateau persisted, coming over and plopping on the bed beside the mage. Marron just shook his head. "Why not? Change is good," the muscular man argued.   
"Not when it comes to my hair," the golden-eyed Hunter replied, even as he handed the brush off to his lover, turning so that the blond man could finish de-tangling the strands and make sure his bangs were evenly parted. Gateau sighed, accepting the hair care instrument and running it carefully through the other man's hair.   
"Bun?" he asked after a moment. The white-clad young man shook his head, getting the brush snagged in his hair. His partner muttered a curse, then set about removing the brush and smoothing out the mussed up strands. "Chopsticks? Half-ponytail? French twist?" he continued, getting a negative noise in response to each style.   
"Gateau, touch my hair with anything other than your hands and that brush, and you are sleeping on the couch for the next week," Marron finally threatened.   
"Geez. I won't do anything to it, I promise. No need to get all bent out of shape," the blond man snorted, turning his lover to brush out his bangs. The task was easier completed than the long black mass at the back of the mage's head, and within a minute, he was setting the brush down, and drawing his partner close, kissing him lightly on the forehead. Marron's arms came up around the muscular man's waist, as he tilted his head up to press his lips to those of the older man.   
"Marron! Gateau! Don't make me send Carrot up there to make sure you two are getting ready!" Tira's voice came from downstairs. Gateau chuckled, turning his head away from his lover's.   
"We're coming!" he yelled back, standing and drawing the shorter man up with him. The golden-eyed Hunter took the opportunity to fix the collar of his lover's vest, before they separated, and hurried downstairs. The pink-haired Hunter was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for them, holding a plate with a small stack of pieces of toast.   
"Breakfast's on the run today, boys. Hurry up, before Chocolate kills Carrot. Dotta's still here, to take us to the assignment town," she greeted them. Gateau had barely taken the plate, before she whisked off to intervene before her sister removed either Carrot or Dotta's head. The winged helper, seemingly ignorant of the spiky-haired bundle of hormones staring at her rear, floated over to the two newly arrived Hunters.   
"Good morning Marron, Gateau! You guys almost ready?" she chirped brightly. The taller of the pair had a piece of toast in his mouth, so the most he could do was nod politely at the girl.   
"Good morning, Dotta," Marron replied back, smiling. He helped himself to a piece of bread. "What is our assignment?" he questioned, taking a bite. Dotta gave the two men a Cliff Notes version of their next job while they hurriedly ate. She finished as Gateau was swallowing the last bite of the last piece of bread.   
"We'd better get going," the winged girl announced. She paused, looking at the couple, before adding, "by the way, you two are so cute!" and giggling. Marron blushed slightly, and Gateau, with a straight face, reached over, calmly brushing a few crumbs off his lover's mouth. The blue-clad girl giggled, before turning and floating towards the door. The two Hunters followed her outside, to where the remaining three waited.   
"Morning!" Chocolate greeted her blonde and black-haired partners.   
"Mornin', everyone," the muscular man returned, raising a hand. Tira and Carrot responded similarly.   
"Good morning," the black-haired mage added warmly, smiling. Dotta cleared her throat to get the group's attention.   
"Well, is everyone ready?" she questioned, pulling out her red sphere. The five Hunters grouped themselves together, nodding. A bright light emitted from the ball in the elven girl's hands. Seconds later, they landed in a small patch of grassy plain. The town was a hand sized blurb in the distance.   
"Uhh.. Dotta? I think you need to work on your navigational skills," the spiky-haired young man commented, picking himself up off the ground. The winged girl tucked her sphere away, and frowned at the dark-eyed young man.   
"Very funny, Carrot. Momma told me to drop you five off here. And remember, don't go into town before dark," she retorted, hands on her hips. Immediately after, she beamed brightly at the group, taking her customary "farewell" pose. "Good luck! Bye-bye!" she called, vanishing in a puff of smoke.   
"Well, let's get going," the tank top wearing Hunter announced, starting off in a mad run in the direction of the town. The girls took off after him instantly.   
"Darling! Get back here!" Chocolate yelled after her departing partner.   
"Carrot! Slow down! We're not supposed to go into the town before nightfall!" the pink-haired Misu sister called.   
"Stuff that! All the pretty girls are gonna be asleep by then!" the spiky-haired young man replied. There was an enraged noise from the red-headed sister, who charged after her target with renewed vigor. Marron and Gateau were still back at the spot where Dotta had dropped them off.   
"This assignment is going to be..." the long-haired Hunter started to comment, looking off in the direction that his brother and the two whom he considered sisters had rushed.   
"Insane, as usual," Gateau finished calmly, tossing an arm around his lover's waist. The mage chuckled, nodding. They started off in the same direction as their errant partners.   


*****

  
After managing to occupy several hours preparing for the assigned mission, the five Hunters entered their targeted town when the sun was just thinking about disappearing into the horizon. The town was deserted. At least, it seemed to be. Not a single person even peeked out of windows as the small group wandered through the streets.   
"Well, Big Momma did say that it was dangerous for people to be out during the day," Tira noted.   
"But, it's almost dark. I guess she really meant dark," the red-headed sister commented, gesturing to the red, blue, and purple-hued sky. Carrot sighed dramatically.   
"That means there's no pretty girls to chase!" he moaned. Chocolate turned to berate her dark-eyed partner, just as they were about to pass an alleyway. The red-headed Hunter voiced a surprised gasp as a hand shot out of the alley, caught a handful of the loud-mouthed Hunter's tank top, jerking him back. Marron, whose sleeve had been in his sibling's grasp, as the older brother had been preparing to duck behind him, was yanked along with his brother. The other Hunters darted into the gap between the buildings after their stolen partners. There, they found a dirt-smudged girl kneeling on the ground beside Carrot, one hand pressed firmly over his mouth to silence him. The elder Glace brother, from his place on the ground, still had a grip on his younger sibling's sleeve. The long-haired mage, bent slightly at the waist to compensate for the hand clutching his tunic, appeared unruffled, but wary, an ofuda ready in one hand. The villager took her eyes from the ward, turning to look up at the new arrivals, then slowly took her hand off Carrot's mouth. The young man sputtered indignantly the moment he was able, releasing his brother's sleeve.   
"What the hell was tha-- mmph," he started to snap, when the girl slapped her palm back across his mouth.   
"Ya idiot! Y'all wanna get caught?!" she hissed. The Hunters, minus Carrot, exchanged blinks.   
"What're you talking about?" the red-headed Hunter demanded, snapping her hands onto her hips, glaring at the village girl. The girl returned the expression.   
"Y'all stupid? Or just addled? Showin' up in this place in broad daylight... I shoulda just let 'em get ya," she grumbled irritably. The Misu sisters looked at each other, then back at the young villager. She looked to still be about the same age as Chocolate.   
"Why didn't you?" Tira questioned carefully. The girl blushed a little, taking her hand off Carrot's mouth.   
"I-I have my reasons.... and your friend here is kinda cute," she muttered, gesturing to the spiky-haired Glace brother. The black-eyed Hunter brightened.   
"You think I'm cute?!" he exclaimed enthusiastically, bounding to his feet. Chocolate's hand shot out, knocking her errant partner back down.   
"Don't encourage him," she growled at the villager. The young woman blinked in surprise at the red-headed Hunter, before shrugging and rolling her eyes.   
"Whatever. Well, come along," she replied finally, waving them down the alley they were already standing in.   
"Huh?" Carrot inquired eloquently, picking himself up off the ground, then deftly placing his younger brother between himself and his red-headed tormentor. Marron just sighed, shaking his head a little.   
"Well, I'm not about to leave y'all out here to get melded or whatever he calls it," the girl replied. The group exchanged debatatory looks, then nodded, and followed their helper. Except for Carrot, who was busy plotting the best way to flirt with the village girl, without getting nailed by Tira or Chocolate.   
Ten minutes of careful travel later, the Hunters found themselves in a surprisingly tidy, if not small, house.   
"I'm afraid I don't have much space, but you'll be safe here until nightfall," the hostess explained, quickly checking the door and throwing it's deadbolt. She crossed the room to kindle the fire, setting a battered looking kettle over the glowing coals.   
"That's very nice of you," Tira smiled gratefully, adjusting her glasses.   
"Why is it only safe at night?" Gateau questioned from his place leaning against the wall beside the main room's only window. Marron sat on the bench beneath the glass covered break in the wall, looking out the clear barrier.   
"Sprig's men only patrol during the day," the young woman replied. "That... sorcerer, he's so generous as to allow us our relaxation in the night," she continued in a tight voice, heavy with angry sarcasm. The golden-eyed mage turned his head, attention going from the minimal goings on outside the window to the hostess.   
"If you don't mind me asking, why did you assist us? At the risk of your own capture?" he inquired. The girl pushed a lock of light red hair behind her ear, then stalled for time, busying herself with taking the now hot kettle off the fire, and pouring tea for everyone. The five Hunters didn't question her hesitation, waiting patiently for her to speak. She started passing out the cups before starting to talk.   
"I lost my little brother to that... monster, a year ago. I take it upon myself to save as many people as I can, to make up for my failure to protect him," she explained in a soft voice, handing Marron his cup. The group remained silent, several taking gulps of their tea to help the awkward moment. The villager smiled suddenly, if a little sadly, at the golden-eyed mage. "Y'know, if you were a little more tan, and had your hair pulled back, you'd look very much like my little brother," she observed. "You've got the same pretty gold eyes he did. I never did figure out why I ended up with such plain green ones," she added wistfully, touching the corner of her left eye. The mage blushed slightly, lowering his gaze to the floor.   
"I think you've got very nice eyes!" Carrot blurted suddenly. "Among other things..." added in a mumble. He was promptly swatted in the head by Chocolate, who had caught the remark.   
"Don't fret about it too much, aaa... you know, we never did ask your name," Tira started to speak, trying to break the semi-silence. The young woman smiled.   
"My name's Cinna. My brother's name was Min," she replied. "What about you five?" questioned in reply. The Hunters introduced themselves, before the pink-haired Misu sister cleared her throat.   
"As I was saying, Miss Cinna, I wouldn't wonder too much about some small difference like eye color. We've known these two since all of us were children, and we're still wondering how they could be related," she continued, gesturing to the Glace brothers. Marron ducked his head slightly, while Carrot stuck out his tongue at the younger Misu sister. Cinna looked back and for between the two young men, then laughed.   
"I should have guessed. I can see the similarities in your features, but you act about as different as Min and I," she replied.   
"Yup. We may not really look it much, but he is my little brother," the spiky-haired Hunter announced proudly, slinging a friendly arm around his sibling's shoulders. The light red-headed girl smiled at them, opening her mouth to speak. Before a sound left her mouth, however, there was a small commotion outside. The occupants of the room froze.   
"Everybody in the back room!" Cinna hissed instantly, pointing towards the entry way near the dining room, which lead into the bedroom. The group whisked from their places, disappearing into the directed space. Their hostess rushed to the door, removing the deadbolt and slipping the door open ever so slightly, peeking through the crack.   
"Cole!" she gasped a second later, opening the door wider to admit a young man with shaggy hunter green hair. She was in his arms in a minute. "Are you mad?! Running around before the sun's gone down," she chided him, though unable to keep the relief out of her eyes.   
"Cinna, there's a rumor of the guards having seen strangers in the town. There's also talk of them staying in town overnight, to catch them. Cin, did you collect any new guests today?" he panted, still holding her to his chest. The girl nodded, finally taking her arms from around the young man's waist.   
"I did. They're in the back room," she replied. The green-haired man sighed in relief.   
"At least you got to them before _they_ did," he muttered. They continued talking in hushed voices.   
"Think they're together?" Tira whispered to her sibling, both girls peeking discreetly around the wall at the two villagers. The older sister shook her head. "Nah. More like brother and sister. He's got a protective stance, but not a lover's," she murmured back.   
"Cinna, I'd better get back. You know Chi gets scared if I'm gone too long," Cole was saying. The green-eyed girl's eyes widened. She clung to the green-haired man.   
"You can't! If the guards are out, they'll catch you!" she protested vehemently. The male villager placed his hands on her shoulders, gently dislodging her.   
"Cin, I'll be fine. I've been scouting these streets just as long as you have. The guards are addled twits, you know that," he reminded her. The cinnamon-haired girl hung her head with a defeated sigh.   
"Just promise me that you'll be okay," she replied. He hugged her, lightly kissing her forehead.   
"I promise. Now, tend to your guests. I'll bring Chi by once it's safe," he assured the young woman, then whisked back out the door. She followed him, shutting and locking the barrier after the green-haired man had left.   
"It's safe," she called towards the Hunters. The five appeared in an instant, all moving towards their old places in the room. "That man who just came by, Cole, he's sorta like my partner. I watch his little sister, Chi, at night, because he's part of the rescue group," she explained without being asked.   
"Rescue group?" Marron inquired, quirking an eyebrow. Cinna moved to pick up the empty tea cups the Hunters had abandoned earlier.   
"A group of our town's bravest. They either help sneak travelers, whom I retrieved before they were caught, out of town, or else they sneak into Sprig's castle to see if there's any villagers who've been melded who aren't too badly deformed whom they can take from the castle," the emerald-eyed village girl replied. "All this time, and still, they've never even seen Min in that terrible place," she added in a whisper, hugging one of the tea cups to her chest. Chocolate reached out toward the girl, as if to offer comfort. Before she could, the green-eyed villager seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in, hurrying the last cup over to the basin. The Misu sisters exchanged looks.   
"That's awful," Tira murmured softly, lowering her gaze. The green-eyed young woman smiled slightly at the pink-haired Hunter.   
"I shouldn't be bothering you with my life story. In fact, you travelers should rest up a bit. Once the moon in high in the sky, the rescue group will be here to lead you out of town safely," she said suddenly.   
"They needn't bother," Marron spoke up from by the window, looking up at the village girl. She started to protest, when Gateau straightened from his lean.   
"We're the Sorcerer Hunters. It's our job to face this evil magic user and make him pay for his crimes," the blond man explained. The other Hunters nodded, aside from Carrot, who jumped up and rushed to Cinna's side.   
"Dear Cinna! I will stay by your side, and protect you," he announced in his most dramatic and deep voice. Chocolate's gestapo cap bounced off the spiky-haired Hunter's head. "Oww! Chocolate! What was that for?! That hurt!" he whined, rubbing his head. The village girl sighed.   
"I should have guessed. I suppose I can't get in the way of allowing you to complete your job. Very well, when the group comes, you can just accompany them to the mansion," she replied to Gateau's comment. Chocolate stomped over to the tank top clad Hunter, grabbed him by the ear, and hauled him unceremoniously back over to his place between herself and Tira.   
"I assume we're going to have to occupy ourselves until this rescue group arrives?" Marron questioned after a moment. Immediately after Cinna had nodded her confirmation, Gateau gave his lover a suggestive grin, which was met by golden eyes rolling and a slight shake of the attached head.   
"Well, we'd better keep a good eye on Carrot," Chocolate muttered. She and her sibling exchanged glances, then each grabbed one of their perverted partner's arms, and hauled him into the other room. After all, the best way to avoid temptation is to remove the source of temptation. Gateau, having accepted that Marron didn't approve of using the free time to fool around, straightened from his lean, turned and bent to give his lover a quick kiss, before heading over to the light red-headed hostess.   
"Since we're stuck here for the time being, and it's really too much to ask you to even put up with those three in the other room for more than five minutes, is there any around-the-house stuff you could use a hand in? Preferably something involving heavy lifting?" the muscular man offered, grinning at the young villager. Cinna raised her head from poking at what appeared to be some sort of stew, and smiled at the Hunter.   
"I believe there is, Mr. Gateau. I've got some old wood furniture in the back room, and I simply haven't had the time to break it down yet. It would be useful for kindling. You'd just have to be a little quiet," she replied.   
"I can do that," the blond Hunter agreed. The young woman set down the cooking implement in her hand, and motioned for the tall man to follow her. Soon after they'd left, Marron, still by the window, calmly pulled out a book, flipped it open to the marked page, and started to read. Nothing else to do for the moment, it was a good time to study. Cinna re-entered the main room and kitchen area a little bit later, the sounds of splintering wood behind her as Gateau worked at his appointed task. She smiled, a little wistfully, at the mage, then continued over to the stove.   
"Oh, Marron? Are you busy?" she called a few minutes later, stirring something in a large pot on the cooking surface. The golden-eyed Hunter glanced up from his book.   
"Not at all. Do you need a hand?" he replied, marking his page and setting the book down. At the young woman's nod, he stood, and maneuvered his way over to the small kitchen area. A good-sized heap of vegetables rested on a small chopping table next to the fire, along with a large knife.   
"You might want to make sure there's nothing in there that'll make any of your friends sick," the villager suggested, stirring the contents of the large pot over the fire. "Min was allergic to a few different kinds of vegetables. Like that one you're holding. I was so scared the first time he reacted to that one," she continued, as the mage started to carry out the assigned task.   
"I see. My brother has never been allergic to anything. Or if he is, then he bolts his food too fast for it to take effect," the golden-eyed Hunter commented in reply. Cinna chuckled a little, bustling over to pull out bowls and cups.   
"Min did that a lot. I was always telling him to chew and swallow," she informed the young man, busily setting out the dishes. "I guess he didn't learn before mother and father passed away," she murmured sadly. The rhythmic sound of Marron chopping the greens hesitated.   
"I'm sorry to hear that. How old were you and Min when this happened, if you don't mind me asking?" he replied.   
"It's been a few years. I was in my teens. Min was only two years younger, and he was a teenager as well, so it wasn't so long ago," she answered, idly fussing with a cup on the table. "Oh, dear! I'm sorry. I was rambling again," she gasped. "It's just... ya so remind me of my dear Min. He was so easy to talk to, even if he was quiet. He was good at just listening. I mean, he was a daredevil and constantly getting into trouble, but he just wasn't loud, y'know?" the red-head continued, taking her hands off the cup. The white-clad mage smiled comfortingly at her.   
"It's perfectly alright. It's actually rather interesting, learning about your brother," he soothed. She smiled, then whisked back over to the stove, checking on the soup. Marron pushed aside a small pile of chopped vegetables, and reached for another handful. At the same time, he was aware of the green eyes of the room's other occupant focused on him. A slight feeling of disquiet brushed over him, but he sternly shoved it away, firmly reminding himself that he looked like the poor woman's lost brother, and that his own lover had already done a sufficient job of pointing out that he was "claimed," so to speak, had the girl been interested in him romantically.   
"How long have you been a Sorcerer Hunter, Mr. Marron?" Cinna suddenly questioned. Caught off guard, the mage just barely missed his index finger with the edge of the knife in his hand. Shaking off the momentary confusion as the sudden inquiry, he continued with his task.   
"About seven years. All of our team has been together that whole time. Well, Gateau joined us a year later, but he joined the Sorcerer Hunters at the same time we did," he replied finally.   
"Gateau.... the blond one?" the cinnamon-haired young woman questioned. The mage nodded. "I thought so. You two are together, aren't you?" she continued, a sly smile quirking her lips. Despite being certain that she already knew, the younger Glace brother was still a little surprised by the question.   
"We are," he affirmed a minute later, taking another handful of vegetables. Cinna laughed lightly.   
"That's so cute! To be honest, I think Min might have been like that as well. In fact, I'm almost certain he and Cole were sneaking around behind my back," she beamed, looking a little wistful. "I would have been happy for them. Cole's like a brother to me, and I knew he would never, ever hurt my little brother," she added softly. Marron smiled a little.   
"My brother never seemed bothered by my preferences. What I think may have irritated him, a bit at first, was that it was Gateau. They didn't always see eye to eye. They don't still, but at least they don't quarrel quite as much," he explained.   
"That's wonderful of him," Cinna commented softly. The mage finished the last cut, then set the blade aside, scooping up a pile of the chopped bits, carrying them over to the pot. As carefully as he could manage, he dumped the vegetables into the pot. However, he wasn't quite as cautious as he should have been, and a small splash of the boiling hot broth leapt from the pot, landing on the back of his hand. More surprised than hurt, the long-haired young man let out an involuntary hiss of pain. "Oh!" his hostess gasped, whirling to see what had happened. She caught his hand before he could draw it to his chest, giving it a quick once-over. "We need to get some cold water on this," she announced, tugging the mage over to a half-full bucket of water. She took the small towel tucked into her waistband, and dipped it into the cool water, firmly pressing it over the small burn. Marron winced slightly. "Sorry," the emerald-eyed young woman murmured, removing the cloth, dipping it again, then laying it more gently across the wound.   
"I think it will be fine," the raven-haired mage commented, starting to take his hand back. The girl allowed him to do so, then whisked over to another cabinet, digging around in it.   
"I've got some ointment that'll help take away the pain. I used it on Min all the time. You'd be amazed at how often he got himself scraped up. Now, though, I usually use it on Chi," she commented, taking a jar from the cabinet, and a roll of bandages. The golden-eyed young man didn't bother resisting or trying to explain to the villager that he would be fine. He just assumed that it would be mentally beneficial for her, and simply went along with it. Cinna was almost surprisingly gentle as she smoothed a small amount of the salve on the fingertip-sized burn mark, then wrapped two layers of bandage around it. "There we go," she announced, smiling, as she took up the medical items and stowed them back away.   
"My thanks," the light-skinned young man replied warmly. The woman rushed to the soup pot. During the course of their interaction, the soup had finished cooking. The light red-haired woman added a bit more water, stirred the concoction, then hauled the pot off the fire.   
"Hope everyone's hungry! I made enough for a whole town!" she called cheerfully. The other four Hunters emerged from where their respective rooms.   
"That should just be enough for Carrot," Tira snorted, taking a seat, watching as her spiky-haired partner charged in, placing himself as close to the food as possible, without actually being up on the table or in the pot itself. Gateau eyed the bandage around his lover's hand as he took his place beside the long-haired Hunter.   
"You okay?" he asked, nodding to the injury. The man in question nodded his affirmation.   
"A minor kitchen accident, Gateau. I'm fine," he assured. The muscular man smiled in reply, then moved to take the soup pot from Carrot before he consumed all of it.   


*****

  
The moon had been in the sky for some time, when there was a soft tap at the door. Motioning for her guests to stay put, Cinna hurried to the door. Before she'd even fully opened it, a little, light green-haired girl burst into the small house.   
"CINNA!" the child cried, throwing herself at the cinnamon-headed young woman, sobbing hysterically.   
"Chi? What's wrong, honey?" Cinna questioned worriedly, placing her arms around the youth comfortingly. She looked up at the rescue group with a frantic light in her green eyes. One, a young man with stormy blue eyes and midnight hair, came forward, face solemn.   
"They got Cole," he informed the young woman. The light red-head gasped.   
"Oh God... Cole? How could they have?" she murmured, gently scooping up the missing man's sister, cradling her close.   
"Chi said that he went out to see you before dark, and never returned. We don't have much hope of getting him back in one piece at this point," another man intoned darkly. Cinna clapped a hand over her mouth, shaking her head.   
"We've still got to try," she returned firmly, stepping back to let the group enter. "These five will be accompanying you to the mansion," she added, taking an arm from around Chi and gesturing to the Hunters. The first man scoffed.   
"Foreigners? Cinna, if we stand any chance of saving Cole, then we can't be babysitting a bunch of fools while we're searching," he retorted. Gateau growled, advancing forward. His lover caught his arm, halting him, before turning glacial golden eyes on the group of townspeople.   
"Fools? You guys stupid, or just not well-informed? We're the Sorcerer Hunters!" Carrot piped indignantly, glaring at the men with deep offense. There was a murmur from the rescue group.   
"So the chief finally got off his ass and did something about the sorcerer," the lead man grumbled. "Very well. You five come with us. Just stay out of our way. We'll do our job and get our partner out, you do yours, and kick that sorcerer's ass," he continued. The group of Hunters exchanged slightly annoyed looks at the man's tone, before Chocolate nodded the whole group's ascent. The man grunted, turning back to his comrades. "Whenever you're ready, we can leave," he announced.   
"We've been ready for some time," Marron interjected calmly. Cinna put down Chi, shooing the child into the bedroom before stepping toward the Hunters.   
"Y'all be careful, okay? Especially you, Marron," she said softly, reaching out and placing her arms around his neck. He blinked in surprise, then, almost hesitantly, returned her hug, unused to embracing anyone outside of his four partners. The light red-headed girl turned her head, placing her mouth next to his ear. "Thank you... for letting me see my brother again," she whispered, so softly the mage was the only one who heard the quiet words. He smiled a little, then shifted his hands to her shoulders, gently putting her at arm's length.   
"You're very welcome," he replied softly, also so that only the young woman he spoke to could hear. Cinna's eyes brimmed with tears, but she simply reached up and brushed them away, chuckling a little. The long-haired man's lover came up, gently laying a hand on the white-clad shoulder.   
"We'd better get going," he intoned quietly. The golden-eyed Hunter nodded faintly, allowing himself to be directed towards the door. Carrot turned to the young hostess, his eyes suggesting that he intended to make one last pass at her before leaving. He didn't get the chance, as she embraced him even before he was facing her.   
"Good-bye, Carrot. Good luck," she smiled at him, leaning her mouth close to his ear. A huge grin spread across the spiky-haired man's face. "You've got a wonderful brother, Carrot. Don't you dare get careless and lose him," she told him in a low murmur. The grin left the dark-eyed Hunter's face, replaced by total seriousness.   
"I came close once before. Trust me, I won't," he promised, squeezing the slender girl. The perverted glint came into his eyes again. Unfortunately, Chocolate caught the look, and intervened, separating them before he could carry out whatever plot he had constructed.   
"We'll be going now. Thanks so much for your help, Miss Cinna. Maybe we'll cross paths again someday," Tira said politely, smiling at the light red-headed girl. With that, the five Hunters, and their escorts, exited the small house. Their hostess came to the door, smiling and waving until they had vanished.   
  
_Well, anybody out there like it? *hears a cricket chirp, pulls out a fly-swatter, instant silence* Anyone ever met a person who was like Cinna? Where you remind them of someone you look like, and then you keep doing something that their someone did, and then the person starts telling you about it? I get that all the time, cause I look like my older sister. Teachers are ALWAYS going on and on about how much like her I look. Anyway, enough about my life story. As before, review if you want a continuation. It's still a pain to HTML this sucker. Catch ya later! Luv ya all!_   
-Maxy Steel 


	3. Problems Arise

_Disclaimer: Sorcerer/Bakuretsu Hunters is not mine. I'd like it to be, cause then there'd be a lot more Marron/Gateau stuff. *grinnnn* But alas, I don't own it. Woe be I. Anyway, on with the fic.   
  
A.N.- Here we go, the long awaited (I ho~~pe...) chapter three of what is to be one of my longest fics, no matter what universe I'm working from. *grins* Since the bottom note is pretty lengthy, I'll keep this short and sweet. In fact, I'm done! Start the fic!   
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai. Potty-mouthed characters. Minor violence. Glace brothers sticking together (in a non-incestual and non-perverted manner). Topless Gateau at the end, watch out!_   
  


**PROBLEMS ARISE   
BY:   
Maxy Steel**

  
  
After arriving on the grounds outside the massive construction that composed the sorcerer's living quarters, the five Hunters tiptoed silently after their escorts, slipping through what appeared to be a well-used passage into the interior of the mansion. The group of foreigners glanced around the unfamiliar area that composed the inside of their target's home. "So, where are we now?" Tira questioned in a soft whisper, unsure of if there were threats within hearing distance. The leader of the group, the young man with midnight hair, gestured around.   
"We're in the lower part of the mansion. A few levels above the dungeon, but quite a bit below the sorcerer's quarters," he explained, voice lowered, but not as quiet as the pink-haired Hunter.   
"That settles is. We'll head up to the sorcerer, and take care of him. Good luck on your part," Gateau concluded. The six townsmen nodded, and the large group split up, going their seperate ways.   
The Hunters stole silently along the darkened hallways, encountering many guards and servants, despite the late hour.   
"This isn't working," Marron muttered as the five ducked into an empty hallway, barely avoiding a few patrolling guards. Tira, at the back, had almost been too late in hiding before the uniformed men marched by.   
"Got any suggestions?" the team's muscleman questioned, warily peering past his lover's shoulder around the corner.   
"Split up?" Carrot piped, a bit too loudly. Fortunately, there hadn't been any hall walkers near enough to be alerted. The others looked contemplative.   
"It could work," Tira mused thoughtfully. "But who goes with who?" she finished, glancing meaningfully at Carrot, making it clear that she wanted to go with him. The spiky-haired Hunter caught her look, and backed away from her. However, that only accomplished him running into Chocolate, who leered at her black-haired partner.   
"I volunteer to go with Marron," Gateau spoke up with a grin. The older Glace brother temporarily forgot about his predicament involving the Misu sisters, just long enough to throw a teasing barb at his blond partner.   
"No way, ya big oaf! You do that, and you two'll be stopping every five minutes to make out!" he protested, much to his sibling's embarrassment. "Or stop for something else..." the dark-eyed young man continued, snickering. The oldest of the group clapped a hand over the spiky-haired Hunter's mouth to shut him up. Marron rolled his eyes at the squabble.   
"For the sake of time and argument... I'll go with my brother, and Gateau, you go with Tira and Chocolate," the mage announced, taking the initiative to save time. Carrot blinked at his younger brother, the slowly reached out, gingerly feeling the long-haired Hunter's forehead.   
"Little brother, you feelin' okay? Cause I'm pretty sure I just heard you suggest that you and your boyfriend here be detached at the hip for a period of time," he said solemnly. The golden-eyed brother snorted in reply.   
"You're a laugh riot, Carrot," the sky-eyed man grumbled. The pink and red-haired members of the group exchanged contemplative glances.   
"It's probably for the best," the younger Misu sister commented at length.   
"Then it's settled. You two go that way, we'll go this way. We'll all meet up at the sorcerer's chambers," Chocolate announced. The blond man muttered something under his breath, then leaned over, lightly pecking his lover on the cheek. In return, the shorter man slipped his arms around his partner's neck in a chaste hug. The sisters giggled quietly. Seconds later, the Glace brothers were taking off down their assigned pathway, while the remaining trio headed down the other. "The race is on," Carrot joked softly as the pair rushed down a hallway. The long-haired brother silently rolled his eyes, motioning for his sibling to quiet up. Mere seconds after Carrot had shut up, two guards strode down the hallway perpendicularly connected to the hall the two brothers hid in.   
"There are people everywhere. This may be a bit difficult," the younger brother mused thoughtfully. The dark-eyed sibling shrugged non-chalantly.   
"We've always landed on our feet before," he reminded the long-haired young man. Marron nodded as the pair silently darted back out into the open, and charged down the hall.   
With Chocolate in the lead, the blond, red-headed, and pink-haired trio hurried down their own path.   
"Let's see who gets there first," the ruby-eyed Hunter murmured. Her sister snorted, peeking around a corner.   
"It's not a race, sister dear," she chided, motioning for her partners to follow as she stepped out into the open. In the course of their travel, the blond Hunter took the lead. Carelessly, he rounded a corner, and almost ran right into a pair of guards.   
"Intruders!" one hissed in a snarl, lunging forward to subdue the three Hunters. In a purely instinctive reflex to seeing a dagger coming at his heart, the muscleman swung his fist, knocking out the approaching guard, dropping him like a sack of potatoes. The other young man seemed shocked that his partner could have been taken down so easily, and as Gateau turned his attention to the remaining guard, the man bolted. Instantly, Tira whipped off her cape, transforming and pulling out her whip, slinging it at the departing figure. The end of the leather weapon snaked between the guard's feet, sending him to the ground, knocking the air from his longs with the force of impacting the hard floor. The best he could do was make a soft wheezing noise, trying to collect his breath as Gateau sauntered up, dropped to one knee, and knocked him out.   
"That was close," the blond Hunter observed calmly, rising and dusting off his hands. The pink-haired dominatrix and her sister both nodded their agreement, the former coiling up her whip, and tucking it against her hip.   
Marron shoved his brother backward, knocking the older Hunter back into the closet the pair had just exited from, then slipped inside after him, just barely missing being caught by the guards he'd heard coming down the hallway.   
"Whew, close one," the elder Glace brother muttered when he thought it was safe. The mage accompanying him nodded silently, cautiously pushing the door open a tiny bit, peering out to check that the coast was clear.   
"It's clear," he informed his sibling, and the pair exited their impromptu hiding place, dashing silently down the hall, save the soft metallic clink of the older brother's sword sheath bouncing off his hip as he moved. The brothers dipped around another corner, catching their breath and checking to make sure the coast was clear.   
"So, what'd Cinna say about me?" the spiky-haired Hunter questioned with a huge grin.   
"I beg your pardon?" the golden-eyed Glace raised an eyebrow as he peeked around the corner, checking for figures that could make their lives either more annoying or more painful.   
"I mean, did she say she thought I was cute, sexy, manly... did she think my butt was cute?" the dark-eyed brother persisted, still grinning goofily. Marron didn't bother to waste air and vocal chords movement to reply. He just sighed and rolled his eyes.   
"She didn't say much about you, Brother. She mainly talked about her brother," he put in a minute. The dark-haired older sibling dropped a bit, heaving a dramatic sigh. His partner snorted softly, then grabbed his shoulder, hauling him along back out into the open. The two travel silently down the long hall for a long moment, Carrot still grumbling under his breath about the village girl's lack of interest in his libido, or even just him. The younger brother was the only one actively listening for danger, so it was a bit of a surprise for the older sibling when his partner pulled up short just outside a closet, the mage having caught the sounds of approaching footsteps. Turning, he opened the closet door and stowed his sibling inside.   
"Ow! Marron, something's digging into my back!" Carrot whined as his brother attempted to slip inside the cramped space beside him. It was to no avail. The closet was tiny, and already packed. With the addition of the tank top wearing Hunter, there simply wasn't any room left. At this point, both boys could hear the approaching guards marching down the hall towards them. The long-haired mage sighed resignedly, pushing a lock of black strands away from his ivory-peach colored cheek.   
"Carrot, don't make a sound. Better one than two," he ordered softly, before the door closed, leaving the speechless older brother in the dark.   
"Hey! You there! What're you doing here?!" a gruff voice shouted outside the cramped and darkened space. Light, rushed footsteps darted away from the closet, followed by the heavy clomping of boot-clad footfalls. The dark-haired brother bit his lip to remain quiet and where he was, being obedient for one of the few times in his life. Why, he didn't know. Even when he heard a painful thud and his little brother's soft groan. The mage's words echoed in his mind. Better one than two. He hung onto that rationalization as he waited for the hall to quiet.   
"How'd this guy get in here? Not that it really matters. Take him down to the dungeon. The Master will be pleased to have a new toy to play with, since the one from earlier has vanished," the guard who had spoken earlier muttered, as his partner hauled up the captured Hunter. The mage winced slightly at the twinge of pain radiating from his shoulder where it had met the floor when the guard had tackled him. It felt bruised, and the fact that the guard clamped one gloved clad hand over the spot where it stung the most didn't help matters. Still, he made no sound as he was roughly manhandled away. Feeling like the World's Most Irresponsible, If Not Obedient, Big Brother, Carrot slumped in his hiding place, waiting for several long minutes after the last footstep had sounded within his hearing range.   
"Dammit," he grumbled, pounding a fist against the inside wall of the closet. "Gateau's gonna soooo kick my ass," he muttered, gingerly pushing on the closet door and slipping out into the open. Only one thing to do, he mused, rubbing the offending sore spot on his lower back where he'd hit a box or something when Marron had shoved him into the closet. Toss the current task to the wind, and go after his little brother. The others would just have to understand. Decision made, the spiky-haired Hunter headed off down the hall in the direction he'd heard his brother's captors taking his sibling.   


*****

  
Gateau, Tira, and Chocolate swept noiselessly, or as close to it as they could get, into the main hall. Instantly, without bothering to see if there was even anyone around, they tucked themselves away near the not-too-noticeable entrance they had come through. Hidden, but also in position to evacuate at the drop of a whip.   
"I'd have thought that Marron and Carrot would have already arrived," Tira pointed out the absence of the quietest and loudest members of their team. Chocolate looked concerned.   
"You don't think Darling's hurt, do you?" she fretted, biting her lip. The tall blond man behind her snorted, rolling his eyes.   
"They're both Sorcerer Hunters. I'm sure they're fine," he interjected calmly. Both Misu sisters turned to face their blond partner, eyebrows jumping for their hairlines.   
"Gateau, did I just hear you stick up for your lover's brother?" the sapphire-eyed sister asked in a dry, incredulous voice. The muscular man immediately went on the defensive.   
"I did not! What I meant was that the dumbass must have gotten himself into trouble, and Marron's probably trying to dig him out of it," the sky-eyed Hunter protested firmly. Smirking, the pink-haired dominatrix opened her mouth to comment on his words, when her sister nudged her, indicating that someone was coming. The amused phrase died on her lips as she instead raised a finger to her lips, gesturing to the blond man to remain quiet as well. As she turned back to view the front of the room, a short, chubby little man, bearing the mark of a magic-user-gone-down-the-darker-path upon his forehead, waddled in, flanked by two men dressed in servant garb. The little man didn't cut a very imposing picture. The top of his shiny bald head wasn't even level with the bottom of Gateau's ribcage. The servants appeared to be caught between laughing at their miniature master, and covering back in fear from his potential power.   
"Lord Sprig, I have just received word that the guards in the west wing have acquired a new worker for you," one of them said, bending slightly at the waist. A pleased expression covered the sorcerer's face.   
"Told you the idiot must have gotten himself caught. Marron's probably trying to save him," Gateau muttered softly. Chocolate glowered at the muscular man, stepping on his foot to shut him up.   
"Very good. I'll be down shortly to see this new worker," the sorcerer was saying to his followers. Hearing this, the three hidden Hunters exchanged quick glances.   
"We'd better beat him down there," Tira voiced, as softly as she could manage. The older sister, and the blond man nodded their agreement, and the trio melted further into the shadows before slipping soundlessly out of the room. After listening for a moment to make sure their exit had not been detected, the three sped down toward the maze of halls towards the dungeon.   
The dark-eyed Hunter peered around a corner, at a loss for where to go from the point he was at. Finding the dungeon hadn't been a problem, but the expanse of cells covered a larger area than he had originally expected, and the little caged rooms were a small maze all their own. Still, he'd managed to stay fairly well on track. Aside from being surprised by the lack of victims in any of the cages. After listening to some of the rescue group's stories on the way to the mansion, he'd been expecting to find the tiny cells packed with people. Well, deformed, mutated victims. But there wasn't even a body part of puddle of dried or liquid crimson in any of the cells.   
"Hmmm... this may be more difficult than I thought," the black-haired Hunter muttered irritably, frustration starting to rise. He wandered aimlessly around the hard-floored area for a bit longer, then back-tracked to where he'd paused, in the middle of the lines of cages. Turning about and surveying the immediate area in a slow circle, the older Glace brother caught sight of a door that he'd missed earlier. How he'd missed it, he couldn't guess. The metal barrier was rather large, after all. "Mmm... open sesame, perhaps?" he grinned, pushing on the door. To his partial surprise, it didn't budge. He frowned a little, and shoved it harder, straining a little against the thick, heavy metal. Still, it resisted his efforts. "Damn door... open!" he growled at the barrier, moving to grab the handle and give it a mighty yank. Not even a faint scratch of metal on metal sounded to award his sufferings. Frustrated, he swung a kick at the door, and succeeded only in stubbing his toe. He yelped at the sudden pain, wincing and hopping around, trying to grab his offended foot. His anger rising, the Hunter drew his sword, and jammed it into the tiny gap between the door and it's frame, and pried. It still didn't budge. He growled at it angrily.   
"Hurry up! Lord Sprig's gonna be here soon! We need to get the two... subjects ready to be combined," a voice was saying. The spiky-haired Hunter froze, then stowed away his sword as he whirled around, searching frantically for shelter. On his first sweep, he couldn't find any places to hide, and felt a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck. A second glance around turned up a darkly colored crate tucked into a dark corner near the door he stood. It was pretty lame, as far as hiding places went, but it was the best he could get at the moment. Sending up a quick prayer that he wouldn't be caught, the tank top clad Hunter dove behind the poor hiding place, curling himself into the smallest possible ball he could manage without risk of spinal injury. Two breaths after he'd hidden himself, two guards marched by him up to the door, both ignorant of the Hunter behind the crate they passed. The shorter one pulled out a large key, and inserted it into the barrier's lock, and after a moment of key-turning and muttered curses, the door swung open. The two men stepped through, not noticing how wide open they'd pushed the door, which gave Carrot ample time, as he watched the barrier creak closed, to pulled out his sword, and slip it between the door and the frame, keeping the large metal rectangle from fully settling back into place. The dark-eyed brother waited for a long while, half-expecting one of the guards to notice his doorstop, and catch him. However, it didn't happen. Moments later, grinning at his own brilliance, the khaki-clad Hunter slipped out of his hiding place, and eased the door open cautiously, stowing away his sword and just leaning slightly on the cold metallic barrier to keep it open. He waited a little bit longer, just to assure himself that the guards wouldn't be waiting on the other side to grab him, then nudged the door open a bit more, quickly sliding through, then gripped the handle, slowly easing it back into place. Finally, he turned to survey his new surroundings. The cages were noticeably bigger, but that was about as luxurious as they got over the other room. Most had dried blood splattered on the floor and walls, giving them about as uninviting an appearance as possible, without the addition of dead bodies or parts of bodies. There was a distinct coppery smell, but it was rancid. The dried blood had been there for a while.   
"Ewwww...." the black-eyed Hunter groaned, holding his nose. Reaching down, he pulled the top of his shirt up over his nose, preferring the smell of the soap they used to clean clothes and his own sweat over the nauseating scent of the rotting crimson fluid. The spiky-haired Hunter wandered down the path made between the cages, coming to the end, and finding the path branching out to the left and right. On a whim, he turned down the left side, and followed the rows of enclosures, as they made a sharp turn, again to the left. Near the end of the line of empty cages, there was one occupied enclosure. A deceptively frail-looking form with long black hair lay sprawled, facing the back wall, in the cage.   
"Marron!" Carrot gasped, lunging at the bars, grasping them as if he meant to pry the bars apart on his own. The form in the enclosure stirred a little, a low groan coming from the figure's mouth as he tried to get his hands under his upper body. He accomplished this, and then turned over onto his side facing the door of the cage. As he did this, the dark-haired Hunter noticed two things amiss, that clicked in his brain that this wasn't his brother. The weakened man's skin was, despite having the sickly pallor of one who hadn't seen sunlight in far too long, still more tanned than his brother's, and the long hair, which on his sibling was constantly sleek and shining, was dull and severely mussed from God-knows-how-long going without proper care. "You're not Marron," the black-haired Hunter realized, a little sadly. The hamster in his head gained a spurt of energy, and ran faster, clicking something else in his mind. "You're Cinna's brother, aren't you? Min?" he continued. The occupant of the cage responded better to the last word from Carrot's mouth, becoming considerably more animated, half-sitting up and blinking at the Hunter. The spiky-haired young man drew in a sharp breath as Min's eyes focused, fixing two hooded, but strikingly familiar, golden eyes on his. The black bangs didn't fall quite right, falling half into the gold irises instead of framing them, and the planes of the lightly tanned face were a bit more chisled and masculine. "Wh-who're you," the long-haired man whispered with the voice of one who had been woken from a deep sleep. The tank top clad Hunter smiled reassuringly, an almost automatic reflex.   
"I'm a friend of your sister's. You're Min, right?" he returned, wanting the clearly semi-coherent young man to affirm this fact himself. The imprisoned man nodded slowly after a moment, as if unsure.   
"I believe I am, at any rate... it's been quite some time since anyone called me that," he murmured in addition to the physical gesture.   
"Well, don't you worry. My friends and I'll get ya outta here in no time," the spiky-haired Glace brother promised soothingly, hand itching with the desire to reach out and add a comforting hand on the other man's shoulder to the words. The spoken comment seemed enough to help the captive man, for he smiled and moved to get to his feet, mouth opening to speak.   
"Which one again?" a voice spoke, sounding from around both corners, near the door Carrot had yet to explore, before the prisoner could. The spiky-haired Hunter froze, whirling to face the direction the sound was coming from.   
"The only one where, idiot," a second voice scolded sharply. There was a sound as if someone wearing heavy armor had thwacked someone else wearing equally weighted chainmail. Carrot spun back to face the imprisoned man.   
"I'll be back. I promise," he said quietly, fixing his eyes on those of the other man. At Min's nod, he moved swiftly, finding a tiny nook to hide himself in, just before the two guards rounded the second corner, and came up to the occupied enclosure. Already half-sitting up, the long-haired young man struggled to get to his feet, while also holding onto some of his dignity. The curl of his lip expressed his extreme dislike for the armored men standing before him.   
"Lucky, lucky you, kid. We finally got someone to combine you with," the taller man grinned, leaning casually against the bars.   
"That's gotta be better than this hellhole." the dark-haired prisoner spat, getting his feet under himself. The guard chuckled tauntingly.   
"I dunno about that," his partner snorted, unlocking the barred door. The first guard stepped inside, roughly taking the young man's arm in his grip, and hauling him out of the cage. In sharp contrast to his rebellious words, the captive maintained a cool, calm air, standing silently once he had been removed from the barred enclosure. Which also contrasted the glint of fear in his eyes, making them more of a bronze color. The guard holding his arm shoved him forward.   
"Get moving!" he barked sharply. The captured man held his head high as he was rudely escorted from the room. Carrot emerged from his hiding place shortly after they'd rounded the first corner. Cursing under his breath, he sprinted after the departing trio, trying to pace himself so as to be able to catch the door before it locked, but not get caught himself.   
The mage stood silently, despite being unused to having his wrists pulled behind his back and bound tightly. The part of him that was his father desperately wanted to struggle against the ropes, but he held his calm, refusing to opening fight the bindings. However, that didn't mean he wasn't subtly attempting to free himself. Fortunately, his long sleeves hid the small twists and pulls as he worked the ropes loose. To the casual observer, he was just shifting his shoulders nervously.   
"Don't be so impatient, young man. Your other half, as it were, will be here shortly," the chubby sorcerer sneered at his captive, ignorant of the young man's escape attempts. Marron narrowed angry golden eyes at the man, but maintained his silence. The sound of a door opening to the long-haired Hunter's right caught everyone's attention. The two guards from earlier marched in, their charge between them. The younger Glace brother paused in his escape attempt, blinking in surprise as the other hostage was brought over to stand beside him. Gold eyes, like twin mirrors of his own, met his from a slightly darker, slightly more broad and chisled face. Min seemed about as surprised by the mage, if not more so.   
"Geez, they're almost twins! That's kinda freaky," one of the guards whom had caught Marron exclaimed. The man in charge snorted disdainfully.   
"It matters not to me how they look. I am only interested in how powerful they are when melded," he commented loftily, gesturing to the guards. The two prisoners were shoved closer together, and encouraged to stay put by the guard's swords directed at their necks and hearts. Marron and Min exchanged glances. A tinge of anticipatory fear sparkled in the eyes of the non-Hunter, met by the calming confidence reflecting in the irises of the mage. The inflection became more prominent, and accompanied by the corner of his mouth twitching in a tiny smirk, as the Hunter's hands were freed of their bindings. Deftly, he gathered the loose cord in his left hand, an ofuda slipping into his right.   
Carrot had hidden himself in the over-hanging shadows, and behind the loose curtain draping that decorated the small room, near the door Min had been hauled through. From this vantage point, he could watch the goings-on in the center of the room undetected. Fortunately, the distance wasn't far.   
"Any last independent words from either of you? You'll be sharing a brain after this, you know," the evil magic user was saying, a smirk crossing his face.   
"Rot in hell, you whore-spawned bastard!" the golden-eyed non-mage snarled vehemently, then spat on the floor by the sorcerer's feet. The man Carrot Glace called brother just blinked at his companion, recalling Cinna's words about her brother being quiet. Well, a year could change a person, he mused silently. The pair's captor laughed at his soon-to-be victims.   
"Such crude language!" he chuckled. "Well, if that is all either of you has to say... prepare yourselves," he announced, a glowing sphere appearing in one hand. The energy cracked about his fingers, turning an angry red as it grew.   
"Dammit!" the older Glace brother hissed through clenched teeth, eyes widening. Tossing all concerns for his own safety to the wind, the black-eyed Hunter charged out of hiding, and towards the assembled group. None of the soldiers noticed him, their attention either focused on the large ball of ruby energy, or else on the pair that would be receiving the blow from the energy. The sorcerer drew back his hand, the attack magic a beach ball-sized sphere balanced on his palm. Marron cocked his own right arm back, the glowing sapphire ward still hidden under his sleeve. Simultaneously, sorcerer and mage threw their attack and ward at one another. "MARRON!" rang out, surprising all assembled, from the mouth of the spiky-haired Hunter unexpectedly, as he shoved between two unprepared guards, sending both men to the floor, the dark-eyed man planting himself directly between his little brother and the threat, arms spread, shoulders tense with anticipation. An instant later, the cool fire of his sibling's ward touched his back, while at the same time, the sorcerer's scorching melding magic struck his chest.   
"Brother!" Marron shouted, seemingly the only one not transfixed by the red, blue, and violet-hued magical battle laying out before them. Carrot stood, hands splayed at 45-degree angles to his sides, eyes and teeth clenched, chin almost touching his red-illuminated chest, his back highlighted with blue. Splotches of purple appeared and vanished intermittently for a few seconds as the magics dueled one another. The kick back from the attack magic sent Carrot flying back to slam into his sibling roughly, knocking both of them to the floor and into unconsciousness, the ward having stopped the spiky-haired young man's Zoantropic transformation. In the course of the collision, the elder brother's right hand struck the younger's left, and remnants of the sorcerer's spell caused their hands to fuse into one.   
The other three Hunters were in the main cell room when they heard Carrot yell. All three froze, the almost shrieked tones still reverberating off the stone and metal walls.   
"Carrot!" Tira gasped, the first one to pinpoint the direction the cry, leading the others to the first barrier separating them from their partners. Tossing finesse to the wind, Gateau swung a crushing blow into the metal door leading into the smaller room of cages, actually denting the thick alloy so much, he left imprints of his spike wristbands in the material. The door gave a tortured scream before relenting, being torn cleanly off it's top hinge, the bottom one twisted beyond repair. With a grunt, the blond muscleman shoved the bent sheet of metal to the side and rushed through the opening it left, the Misu sisters on his heels. The three raced down the rows of enclosures, before turning sharply to the right at the split, and streaking for the door. The final barrier separating the trio from their intended destination wasn't even half as tough as it's predecessor, but it was met with the same violent force that was Gateau's right fist. Consequently, the door was literally blown off it's hinges by the attack, and flew into the room, announcing the arrival of the three Hunters by skidding across the stone floor, sending out a shower of sparks and making a terrible dry screeching noise before halting less than a foot from the sorcerer in a twisted heap.   
"What in the--" the malevolent magic user started, surprised by the interruption. The guards, who had been advancing on the heap consisting of the unconscious Min, whom had been felled by both of the Glace brothers slamming into him, Carrot, and Marron, turned their collective attentions away from the three inactive occupants of the room, and started for the pink-haired, red-headed, and blond Hunters. Chocolate whipped off her jacket, transforming. She eyed her downed partners, eyes narrowing dangerously in the direction of the sorcerer. The evil magic user growled, then flung a ball of energy at his three alert opponents. The two female Hunters dodged out to the sides, while Gateau dropped, rolling out of the path of the attack magic.   
"Hyahhh!" the red-headed dominatrix cried, slinging her garrote. The end, glinting dangerously in the dim light of the room, found it's mark through the fat sorcerer's shoulder, inches above his heart. The blond and pink-haired Hunters charged forward to meet the guards, Chocolate on their heels, after having yanked the end of the spear-like line back from through the sorcerer's shoulder. The dark-hearted magic user slumped, wincing and clutching at his shoulder. Of the heap of tangled limbs and bodies of the three knocked out members of the room, Marron was the first to regain consciousness, groaning softly at the dull, throbbing pain in the back of his head where it had impacted against the stone floor. More guards appeared from another entrance to the room. The mage winced a little at the pain in his head, then shoved at the dead weight, which currently described his older sibling, that was pinning him down.   
"Brother, wake up," he muttered, nudging the spiky-haired Hunter, a little harder. The dark-eyed young man mumbled something incoherent against his sibling's shoulder, then groaned, blinking blearily. As the mental static left the edges of his vision, he pushed himself up off the long-haired Hunter, rolling to the side and onto his back. Sitting up, he attempted to raise his right hand to touch his forehead. The action halted when his hand was midway to it's destination, the tank top clad Hunter freezing as he realized that Marron's left hand was coming up with his right.   
"Ma-marron..." he stuttered frantically, gesturing to the cause for his concern when the mage raised his head. The younger brother's eyes grew to an almost impossible size upon seeing the result of the sorcerer's spell, and he struggled to sit up. After taking another moment to gage the situation, he calmed quickly, brilliant mind already working through possible ways to fix the problem.   
"We'll have to figure out how to separate ourselves," the golden-eyed brother announced calmly. Carrot tugged on his arm, then prodded at the combined limb.   
"Can't you just use one of your ward thingies?" he questioned, cocking his head a little. It seemed like a reasonable and sensible way to solve the problem quickly and painlessly. However, his sibling dashed the idea with a shake of his head.   
"It hasn't been long enough since I last used a ward, at least on this particular spell cast," he explained. The older brother heaved a grumpy sigh, then yelped as a guard went flying overhead, courtesy of Gateau.   
"We'll figure it out later, then. Come on!" he replied, standing and pulling the other Hunter up with him. He glanced down at Min, who had yet to wake. A small cut was visible above his left eye, and a fat drop of blood had oozed from the wound, tracing a sluggish path across the young man's forehead towards the stone floor. "Let's get him out of the way," he suggested, nodding to the unconscious man. At Marron's nod of agreement, both crouched, between the two of them managing to haul the villager's dead weight over to the back wall, tucked well out of harm's way. After they had finished arranging Min's limbs into a more comfortable position, the golden-eyed mage raised his eyes, scanning the room for his lover. The blond muscleman knocked aside an approaching guard, sky-colored eyes searching out gold ones. Even across the span of almost the entire room, both members of the couple could read the relief in one another's eyes at seeing the other safe and alert. Seconds after the pair had broken their eye contact, the six villagers that composed the rescue group, and their recovered partner, Cole, burst in, weapons drawn, through the yawning gap that once held the door Gateau had bashed to a twisted metal scrap, pushing the number of able-bodied good guys to ten. The dark green-haired young man, in the lead, spotted the Glace brothers and their charge, and sprinted over, hope bright in his dark eyes.   
"My god..." he murmured, pulling up before the trio, then dropped to one knee, looking amazed. "We've never had the time or chance to check behind that door. I never realized that he might be back there," the hunter green-haired man almost whispered, reaching out and pulling the limp form of the long-haired villager tightly against his chest. Carrot wasn't paying attention to the reunion, his attention focused on watching for any threatening persons coming too close, leaving his sibling to observe the two villagers. At noticing Cole lightly press his lips to those of the unconscious man, the white-clad mage smiled inwardly, recalling Cinna's comment from earlier. Near the center of the room, the blond Hunter cocked back one large fist, letting it fly a second later, his huge knuckles connecting with the temple of the last standing guard. He smirked in a self-satisfied manner as the armored man dropped to the floor with a metallic clunk.   
"Ohhh! Where'd that slimeball sorcerer go?!" Tira snapped, the end of her whip twitching about her ankles like the tail of an angry cat as she turned, surveying the immediate area for the object of her not-so-non-violent intent.   
"Damn! I wasn't done giving him a piece of my mind," the red-headed sister grumbled. While the two women muttered more about what they had in store for the sorcerer once he was located again, their blond partner loped over to where the Glace brothers stood, watching Cole still in the process of trying to rouse the still unconscious golden-eyed villager. He beamed warmly at his lover, coming to a halt beside the mage.   
"Good to see you're okay," he said sincerely, leaning to quickly kiss the other man on the lips. The golden-eyed member of the couple smiled in reply to the gesture, before stretching up to return the affection. Carrot glanced around the room, noticing the definite lack of sorcerer in the confined space. Behind him, Cole had managed to gently awaken the other villager, and was walking to the semi-coherent young man in a soft voice. Across the rest of the room, several of the rescue group's members were doing a quick sweep of the room and the immediate area, while one was attending to a partner that had been injured. The man had a fairly mild-looking gash in his side, and was still conscious, if not appearing to be in more than a bit of pain.   
"Looks like the sorcerer's split. Who's all for getting out of here?" the spiky-haired Hunter piped, looking around at the rest of the awake and alert occupants of the room. The collective group of villagers and Hunters gave their indications of consent, and soon after, they had cleared out, heading out of the mansion.   
The large team made it back to Cinna's home in record time, despite having two injured or otherwise physically hindered members among their ranks. Upon arriving at their destination, Cole was in the lead, one arm around Min's waist, the other holding onto the other man's hand, which was connected to the arm slung around his shoulders. The long-haired villager was awake, alert, and probably didn't need the additional help. However, there was no way he was going to turn it down, either, Marron noted, walking just behind them. Again, he grinned privately to himself. Gateau, on the long-haired Hunter's right, noticed the expression on his lover's face, quirked an eyebrow, then shrugged mentally, making a note to himself to ask the mage about it later.   
"COLE!" little Chi all but screeched, flinging herself at her big brother, almost knocking both her brother and the man he was supporting to the floor. Cinna, who had been in the little kitchen area, passing the time with making something indistinguishable, for the time being, looked at up at the arrivals. The spoon in her hand clattered to the floor as her gaze shifted from the face of the hunter green-haired man to that of his companion.   
"Min?" she whispered hopefully from behind the hand clasped over her mouth, large emerald eyes sparkling. Her brother seemed to jump a little, hearing her voice, before he directed his attention away from the child clinging to Cole's pant leg, and up to his sister's face, gold eyes shimmering faintly.   
"Sister... I'm home," he replied, voice soft and rough-sounding around unshed joyful tears. An instant later, the older of the brother-sister pair rushed forward, catching her sibling in a crushing embrace, burying her face against his shoulder, her own shoulders shaking with repressed emotion. Everyone had to smile at the long-awaited reunion. Cole even stepped back a little, bringing his sister with him, his dark eyes sparkling with happiness. Cinna's shoulders finally stopped shaking, and she raised her head, eyes still a little damp, from her brother's collarbone, beaming brilliantly up at the golden-eyed young man.   
"I knew you'd come back," she said softly, brushing tears from her eyes. Min smiled warmly in reply, hugging her again.   
"I did too. It's good to be back," he returned, taking one arm from around her and wiping at his own eyes. The rest of the assembled group was still by the door, watching the reunion silently. Fortunately, because Cinna and Min were in the spotlight, Carrot and Marron's predicament had yet to even be noticed by anyone else. Even though the older Glace brother kept nervously glancing down at their altered limb, hidden subtly under the younger's long sleeve. The other three Hunters had yet to comment on the odd facts of Marron staying so close to his sibling, or Carrot's definitely-out-of-place silence. All eyes were paying attention only to the reunited brother and sister.   
"This is a truly joyous occasion! We need to have a celebratory feast!" Cole spoke up suddenly, hefting his little sister up onto his shoulders. He turned to face the five foreigners, all grouped together near the window. "And you, Sorcerer Hunters, must stay and join in the festivities," he continued, voice indicating that "no thanks" was an unacceptable answer. The Hunters exchanged glances, before Tira spoke up, ever the voice of reason.   
"That sound wonderful, but the sorcerer escaped. We have to finish our job," she put in, adjusting her glasses, the mirrored lenses reflecting a remorseful light. Unfazed, the hunter green-haired villager shrugged, determined not to be swayed. "It will take a day or two for us to prepare everything. And for Min to regain his health as well. Surely you can take care of that loathsome sorcerer by then?" he argued in return. Once again, the five exchanged calculatory looks. One of the other villagers, a tall man nearly as bulky, muscle-wise, as Gateau, spoke up, his voice a deep resonating rumble.   
"After all you have done for us, Sorcerer Hunters, we can not simply let you vanish without a trace," he intoned. Several others nodded, murmurs of agreement rushing through the crowd like a summer breeze.   
"Not making any promises, but we'll try to show up," Gateau interjected calmly. This appeared to satisfy the assembled villagers, for no comments came up to argue further. The long-haired ex-prisoner smiled, a bit wearily, from his sister's arms. The signs of exhaustion were being to be more prominent on his face and in his stance. His legs appeared to be shaking with fine tremors.   
"This is going to be very exciting," he commented, voice quiet with badly-hidden weariness. His sister turned a pair of very large, very worried emerald eyes upon his face as she adjusted her waning grip on his upper body.   
"Oh, Min. You look exhausted. Let's get you laying down," she told him, moving to help him to his bedroom. However, even after a year of imprisonment, the younger brother was still too tall and heavy for his sibling to manage easily. And his adrenaline-powered energy reserves were all but depleted to nothing, leaving him unable to try and move himself. Watching the two, Carrot got an idea. He tugged his own sibling forward, catching Marron off-guard. Had it been a lesser man, he'd probably have tripped at the spiky-haired man's sudden pull.   
"My brother and I can take Min to his room!" he offered enthusiastically, beating Cole to the punch, so to speak. Marron quirked an eyebrow at his older brother. Before he could comment, however, Cinna beamed at the two young men.   
"That's sweet of you two," she said gratefully. The younger Glace brother caught the nudge and pointed look his sibling shot at him, and the idea clicked in his head as well. He sighed mentally, going along with his brother's plot, stepping forward to assist Carrot in taking the other golden-eyed young man from his sister, and then half-leading, half-supporting the exhausted villager to his room. Throughout this, both Glace brothers were careful to keep Marron's sleeve over their joined hand as they directed Min out of the main room, and into one of the small bedrooms, before gently tumbling the young man onto the single bed. The long-haired villager was out the instant his head hit the pillow. After taking a few steps away from the bed, to stand over by the door, out of sight of anyone coming down the short hallway leading to the room, the spiky-haired Hunter turned to his partner.   
"Okay, let's try the ward thing again," he suggested, tone a bit impatient. The younger man nodded agreeably after thinking a moment, gaging when the incident had happened, and calculating whether or not the ward would have a chance of doing anything by now.   
"It is our only option at the moment," he replied, flicking his wrist, a slip of paper appearing in his right hand. After pushing the billowing left sleeve up to his elbow, exposing the melded hand, the younger brother closed his eyes, concentrating on the ward. A faint blue glow started to surround the markings on the rectangle of paper, quickly spreading and covering the entire surface, all the while getting brighter. When the glow started to get almost painful in it's intensity, Carrot's eyes left the ward, eyes roaming around the tiny bedroom, a little boredly. His black irises flicked from the young man asleep on the bed, to the open doorway, to his sibling's face, to the source of the current trouble, their combined limb, and back to the doorway, actively listening for approaching footfalls, and watching for intruders. He jumped a second later, emitting a small yelp of surprise as the hot-cold energy of the ward touched his skin. He felt like it was burning and freezing his hand all at once as it worked it's magic on the trouble spot. Marron tugged his arm, attempting to pull it away, encouraging his sibling to do the same. Nothing happened, as far as them separating went. A second later, the ward's energy fizzled out, leaving two frustrated Hunters.   
"Damn!" the older brother grumbled, pounding a fist irritably against his thigh, almost hard enough to bruise. The younger shrugged almost imperceptibly, reaching out with his right hand to prod at the left one connected to his sibling's right, taking a moment to examine the result of the sorcerer's spell. It looked like an ordinary human hand, if not a little strange-looking, having aspects of both brother's hands. Long, semi-think fingers, covered by skin that wasn't anywhere near as tan as Carrot's, but noticeably darker than Marron's ivory-peach color. Abruptly at the wrist, the colors changed as the spell's power had only affected their hands, the wrist branching off into two arms, connected to two Hunters, one extremely frustrated, the other mildly.   
"Marron? Carrot? What're you two doing in here?" Tira called, sticking her head into the room. Both brothers jumped, the older reaching and flicking down the younger's sleeve, hiding the memento from the fight under the white sleeve, a split-second before the pink-haired Hunter looked in their direction. "N-nothing! Just getting Min settled!" the black-eyed Glace brother stammered, his sibling nodding a little in agreement. The younger Misu sister adjusted her glasses, the lenses giving off a suspicious tint, directed at the pair. Seeing that whatever scheme Carrot had going was something that Marron obviously approved of and was going along with, she sighed.   
"Well, hurry up and get back out here. We're gonna be leaving soon," she told them, before turning and heading back for the main room. The second she was gone, both brothers heaved quiet sighs of relief. "Something's weird with those two," the whip-toting Hunter muttered, tossing a glance back in the direction she'd come from upon appearing back out in the main room. The red-headed sister raised an eyebrow, catching the comment.   
"What do you mean?" she questioned, getting her sister's attention. Before the younger Misu could respond, the brother team in question reappeared in the doorway, the younger in the lead. His older sibling peered over his shoulder, doing his best to maintain an innocent air, while the mage simply looked as he normally did.   
"Tira said something about leaving?" Carrot questioned, a little too perkily, glancing around. In the few moments the two had been gone, all the villagers, save the home's owner, Cole, and Chi, had vanished from the area. The little girl was curled up on the short bench placed under the window, sound asleep. Cinna looked over, pausing her low-voiced conversation with the hunter green-haired man, hearing Carrot's comment. A slight pout crossed her face.   
"You don't need to go. I've got enough room," she protested, stepping forward. The red-headed Misu sister rose from where she sat at the small table the room boasted.   
"Yes, but you've also got your brother to think about. Trust me, it'll be easier on you if you don't have us to trip over," she remarked, gesturing to her companions. The village girl still looked determined to keep her visitors. Cole chuckled a little, stepping forward and draping a friendly arm over her slim shoulders. "She's right, Cin. Quit mother-henning them, and just focus on your brother," he added, not unkindly. The rest of the room's occupants nodded. The light red-head looked to each face, biting her lip indecisively for a moment, then heaved a half-chuckled sigh of defeat.   
"Alright," she conceded, none too willingly. "Just remember to stop by after you take care of that sorcerer. Or I'll get mad," she warned, casting a semi-threatening glare over the assembled group, the expression softened by the smile crossing her face. The five Hunters all voiced their promises to return just as soon as their job was done. Good-byes were exchanged, and the group headed for the door. The sun had yet to rise. They intended to try to catch a little sleep in the remaining darkness, before heading out to finish their job.   
Given it's sorcerer problem, the small town only boasted one small motel, which had two rooms left unclaimed. Tira and Chocolate immediately graciously offered to take the larger room, and also graciously extended an invitation to Carrot to stay with them. The black-eyed Hunter glanced nervously at his sibling, then stammered out a response to the effect of that he'd just stay with the other men in the group. Gateau spoke up in protest to this suggestion, and a new debate was started, with the first not quite fizzled out. All this was much to the chagrin of the desk clerk, who was starting to look a bit strained.   
"Perhaps it would be best for the young man to stay with the other men, so that he does not take advantage of either of the young ladies," the clerk suggested hopefully. The red-headed Misu sister pouted and stamped her foot.   
"But that's what I want him to do!" she complained, crossing her arms over her chest.   
"Sister!" Tira yelled in embarrassment to her sibling's brashness. The clerk's eye twitched. Sensing that the clerk was beginning to look and feel a touch homicidal, Gateau stepped in, taking Tira's usual place as the voice of reason.   
"For the sake of argument and sanity, us men will bunk in one room, and you two, Tira and Chocolate, can take the other room," the blond muscleman announced authoritatively, a finality in his tone leaving no room for argument. The red-headed sister grumbled and pouted some more, but at last nodded her agreement to the arrangement. The pink-haired sister had already expressed her own confirmation, and the desk clerk's twitching eye was slowly calming down. The debate finally settled, the five split into two groups, and headed for their respective rooms.   
In the boys' room, the Glace brothers did their best to conceal their memento from the fight from their blond room mate, without seeming too obvious about it. Marron was already convinced that their attempts were failing miserably, especially after watching his lover's eyebrow shoot for his hair line skeptically at noticing his sudden inability to move back a bed spread without the assistance of his elder brother. Among numerous other little once single-person tasks, and the fact in general that both brothers, while known for not being bothered by one another's presence, most definitely were not known for, almost literally, following one another about like puppies.   
"I'm gonna grab a quick shower," the muscular man announced at length, getting up off the side of the double bed he'd claimed, and heading for the aforementioned destination. Heart beats after the bathroom door had closed behind the blond Hunter, the spiky-haired brother jumped up, causing the heavy magic book, a possession of Marron's that he'd been feigning deep, possibly soul-deep, interest in since shortly after the bed spread incident and after having run out of little menial tasks to pass the time with, to clatter to the floor, and Carrot's right foot, with a resounding thud of faded leather and layers of paper on wood floor and human foot. With a vehement burst of creative and rather colorful curses, the black-haired Hunter hopped around, grabbing for his abused foot, then fell back onto the bed he'd just vacated. Marron sat patiently on the bed beside him until the eldest Glace brother had calmed, then watched him jumped back to his feet.   
"Try the ward again!" the older brother urged, turning to his sibling. In response, the mage reached down, and retrieved the fallen book, smoothing out the pages that had been rumpled and bent by the bound manuscript's unexpectedly rough trip, before setting it carefully on the bed next to his hip. The whole time, his brother impatiently stood before him, drumming the fingers of his right hand restlessly on his left elbow, hopping from one foot to the other as he waited.   
"Brother, we've already tried that method. It doesn't work," Marron finally reasoned in a patient tone. The black-eyed Hunter stopped his restless fidgeting, taking a determinedly stubborn set to his jaw.   
"Maybe it just needs an extra jolt to work. Come on, Marron!" he wheedled plaintively. The younger brother shook his head, his own natural stubbornness rising to the fore front. Carrot whined again. Marron once again flatly turned down the request. The cycle repeated. Then it did so once again. It continued to do so for nearly half a dozen cycles, before, with a heavy sigh, the younger brother relented.   
"You can be amazing... persuasive, when you want to be, Brother," he muttered, drawing a ward and shifting to a more comfortable position on the bed. Carrot grinned triumphantly, hopping onto the mattress beside his sibling like a small child. The golden-eyed magic user pushed up his sleeve, then turned his focus to the black-decorated slip of white paper. Preoccupied with diving his attention between watching the rather fascinatingly glowing ward, and basking in the glory, however small it was, of having won a debate with his brother in "No" mode, the spiky-haired Hunter completely and totally forgot about his other room mate, and that Gateau had said a "short shower". Marron had no extra attention to spare, so he wasn't prepared either for the shout, when it come.   
"What the HELL?!" resounded unexpectedly in the small room, startling both brothers, Carrot to the point of yelping and falling off the bed with a thump. Marron gasped, startled out of his concentration, head snapping over to the source of the cry. Gateau stood, clad only in jeans, and damp hair, more of a dark blond color with the remaining water drops embedded within it, staring at the exposed joined limb connecting the two brothers with an expression of horrified shock.   
  


TO BE CONTINUED...

  
  
_Well, there we go. A cliffhanger. Again. I'm sure you're all just thrilled, rii~~ght? Okay, you're probably actually siting there going "Will you please just SHUT UP and start the next chapter?!" Or maybe you're thinking "My God, woman, don't you have better uses for time and computer memory than to produce this crap?" Or maybe you're thinking the same thing I am. "I FINALLY FINISHED TYPING UP CHAPTER THREEE!!!!!!!!!!" Whaaaat? It took me almost five days to get this thing from notebook to computer. *pouts* And did you know that had I just typed up exactly what was in the notebook, this chapter would only be about two-thirds the length it is? And how many actually understood any of the stuff in italics after the "TO BE CONTINUED..." remark? Raise your hands if you did! Okay, I'm probably getting just a bi~~t annoying, so I'll go, and start on chapter four. Unless y'all really don't want me to. Well, reguardless of your opinions, I probably will, but if no one liked this chapter, then I probably won't post it. Okay, I probably will, reguardless of what you people say. And I'm gonna shut up now. And I'm gonna start the next chapter. After I take a nap. Or something. I dunno. Shutting up now! *her muse, the demon-angel flies in, pulls out a squeaky hammer, bashes Maxy's head with it, knocking her unconcious, then drags her away* Catch ya later! Luv ya all!_   
-Maxy Steel 


End file.
